HERMAN D. KOPPEL (1908-1998): Piano Quintet, Op. 57, 9 Variations for Piano Trio, Op. 80, Piano Quartet, Op. 114.
Catalogue Number: 12I010
Label: Dacapo
Reference: 8.226003
Format: CD
Price: $15.98
Description: Full-length (28 minutes), energetic and quasi-Romantic (try, for instance his Symphony No. 5 written two years later), the quintet of 1953 catches Koppel at the height of his mature period. The nine-minute Variations of 1969, with their twelve-note theme only appearing after the first variation, are demanding both for the soloists and for the listener while the very late quartet (1986) is a single-movement piece in five sections - alternately slow and fast, with the fast parts reoccurring in a rhythmically driving, toccata-like fashion - which shows the tendency toward spare textures and compression of thematic material common to many composers in their old age. Copenhagen Classic, Christina Bjørkøe (piano).